Achieving quality in ma market-led EC ECEC EC Helen Penn - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Achieving quality in ma market-led EC ECEC EC

Helen Penn Visi*ng Professor, TCRU, UCL Ins*tute of Educa*on

A diversion?

Anthropomorphism?

Wildlife Trust: Every Child Wild

Every Child Wild

• “Each genera*on seems to have less contact with the outdoors than the

preceding one. We owe it to all young people to reverse this trend – for their sakes, for our sakes and for nature’s sake.”

• 451 children in 12 areas across England before and aNer par*cipa*ng in

ac*vi*es ran by a wildlife trust like iden*fying plants and trees.

• “This research shows that children experience profound and diverse

benefits through regular contact with nature. Contact with the wild improves children’s wellbeing, mo*va*on and confidence.

• “The Wildlife Trusts believe everyone should have the opportunity to

experience the joy of wildlife in daily life and we’re calling on government to recognise the mul*ple benefits of nature for children – and ensure that at least one hour per day is spent outdoors learning and playing in wild places.”

My ideal nursery

My ideal nursery

• The community nursery movement was built on the premise that ‘we’

– that is, everyone involved, staff and parents and children alike – made decisions and acted together to define and pursue the nursery’s objec*ves

• My ideal nursery was a near impossible, cuUng-edge combina*on of

kindness and concern for the vulnerable combined with intellectual savvy and more space than any home could offer. I wanted children to be joyful together but not isolated in their own childhood gheWo, to have friendships, to run and use their limbs, to savour the everyday events of their lives and live life to the full, including experiencing slipper-chewing puppies, Chinese cuisine, scatological curiosity and junky an*ques.

My ideal nursery

• If children come together in nurseries, how should their rela*onships

with one another be supported? And what should be the role and tasks of the adult caring for them? These are per*nent ques*ons, especially now that so many young children aWend nurseries, and they are s-ll unanswered. The ‘quality’ measurements commonly used refer to structural quality (premises, equipment, staffing) and process quality (how individual members of staff support individual children). It is an extraordinary act of blindness to fail to acknowledge that in situa*ons where many children and adults come together, there might be other dynamics opera*ng.

Issues of quality

• Purposeful ac*vi*es, whose meaning and relevance is constantly

revised

• Parents and staff having a voice in the decision making of the nursery
• Inclusivity for poor or vulnerable families , and inclusivity for children

with special needs Priva*za*on puts these aims under stress.

UN: Poverty and Human Rights

• UN 73rd General Assembly (2018). Report of the Special Rapporteur
• n extreme poverty and human rights. UN A/73/396
• The UN report discusses the impact of priva*zed services, in almost

all service areas, not just childcare. It says that priva*za*on across the world has usually meant two things, firstly a lack of accountability, and secondly the exclusion of the poor. This is a world-wide phenomenon, not merely a na*onal or local one, and is a reflec*on of what is called the global economic order which privileges the wealthy at the expense of the poor. The growth of inequality has been the major economic phenomenon of the last 20 years or so.

Private sector childcare in the UK/England

• Our study aims to chart changes in childcare provision, using

publically available informa*on about private nurseries to explore issues of finance, loca*on, con*nuity, transparency, accountability and governance. We are carrying out a review of the reach of the private childcare industry using market research, financial analysis of selected nurseries, ‘provision mapping’ to assess how provision varies with different levels of depriva*on, and case studies of private providers.

• hWps://www.nuffieldfounda*on.org/private-sector-childcare-england

The current size and shape of private childcare

• Most formal childcare is provided by the private sector, ranging from

small private operators to mul*-million pound interna*onal

• businesses. The for-profit childcare market in the UK is worth an

es*mated £5.5 billion pounds and evidence suggests the for-profit sector is growing and consolida*ng. Over 80% of all places, are provided by the private sector, and 53% of those places are provided by big companies.

• The largest three chains, between them providing over 60,000 places,

are owned by foreign investors, with financial head offices located in Singapore, France and the USA. Further changes in the sector seem likely, most notably increased penetra*on by large chains, and increased foreign investment.

The current corporate nature of childcare

• Corporate childcare, or nursery chains now provide 53% of all places.

But this is a very vola*le sector, typified by con*nual mergers and acquisi*ons, with the larger companies buying up smaller chains.

• The trade magazine, Nursery Chains annually ranks the top 25

childcare companies with the most number of seUngs and places. In 1998 the list included 70 companies listed. By 2018 this had increased to 179 companies. The combined number of places on offer in the company sector in 1998 was 33,506. By 2018 the top 25 companies alone were offering 110,271 places, and the largest company alone, Busy Bees, was offering 31,514 places.

The current corporate nature of childcare

• The current government has been ac*vely promo*ng the UK childcare market as

a ‘global opportunity’ for investment and it is now being described as a ‘hot market’. At the top end, there are constant acquisi*ons and takeovers, with large companies expanding through purchases, take-overs and refinancing of smaller chains. The largest three chains, between them providing over 60,000 places, are owned by foreign investors, with financial head offices located in Singapore, France and the USA. Further changes in the sector seem likely, most notably increased penetra*on by large chains, and increased foreign investment. Chris-e and Co: Early Childhood Educa-on and Care Workforce Trends and Associated Factors hWps://www.chris*e.com/getaWachment/News-Resources/Publica*ons/ September-2019-(1)/Early-Childhood,-Educa*on-Care-Workforce-Trends-A/C-Co- ECEC-Report-(Pages)-(1).pdf.aspx/?lang=en-GB&ext=.pdf

InternaJonal childcare firms in the UK

• Busy Bees Nurseries in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Singapore,

Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Australia, Canada and the United States

• Childbase Partnership Nurseries in England and China
• Cognita Schools Nurseries and pre-schools in England, Chile,Brazil, Spain,

Switzerland, Italy, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam

• Kangaroo Pouch Nurseries in England and China
• Evolou*on Childcare Nurseries in England, Bahrain and China
• Kido School Nurseries in England and United States
• Bri*sh Early Educa*on Nurseries in China

InternaJonal childcare firms in the UK

• Bright Horizons (Headquartered in Watertown, MassachuseWs,

United States)- Nurseries in the US, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands and India

• Les Pe*ts Chaperons Rouges (Headquartered in Paris, France) –

Nurseries in France,Germany, England and Canada

• La Maison Bleue (Headquartered in Paris, France) Nurseries in France,

Switzerland, Luxembourg, England and Romania

• Hjalli Model (Headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland) Nurseries Iceland

and Scotland

• JiaYi Educa*on (Headquartered in China) Nurseries in England

Sources of informaJon for the Nuffield Research Study on Childcare

• i) from the sector itself, and the business and marke*ng informa*on

that they provide

• ii) other relevant literature, especially on staffing, for instance the

report by the low pay commission on wages in the sector.

• Iii) Forensic accoun*ng. All limited companies have to submit their

accounts annually in the UK. What do these accounts tell us about nursery businesses? One member of our team is a forensic accountant who has been examining the accounts of nursery comanies.

Elder care privaJzaJon

• Debt repayments are a significant area of leakage for some of the largest 26 providers.
• The problem is especially serious in rela*on to homes operated by the 5 largest for-

profit care home providers which are owned or backed by Private Equity. Collec*vely their debts amount to £35,000 for each care bed they own, and they pay interest costs

• f £102 per bed per week; this means that 16% of the weekly fees paid to these

providers by local authori*es or individuals for residen*al care goes towards paying off debt.

• 6. Much of the debt loaded onto the care homes by the largest for-profit providers is
• wed to related companies that are oCen based offshore and at high rates of interest

i.e. a form of hidden profit extracFon which also avoids tax.

• Across the 26 largest care home providers a total of £261 million of the money they

receive to provide care goes towards repaying debt. Out of this £117 million (45%) are payments to related companies which is a known way of avoiding tax and hiding profits.

• CHPI(2019) Plugging the leaks in the UK care home industry.

hOps://chpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/CHPI-PluggingTheLeaks-Nov19- FINAL.pdf

Comment from inside the industry

• The growth of the company sector has changed and the distribu*on
• f nurseries has shiNed, with most investors and owners focused on

affluent areas as higher fees can be achieved. No-one will build in disadvantaged areas as there is insufficient subsidy from the government even with the pupil premium. There are also significant social issues which can be very significant and *me commitment for managers which also makes it less aWrac*ve and feasible. When a business is acquired, it almost always means a fee increase for

• parents. In an affluent area, you might get profit margins of 35%; in

less affluent areas it is likely to be 15-16% at best.

Comment from inside the industry

• As the companies have expanded, they are increasingly run by men

who focus on fiscal performance which given the focus on gender equality and the pay gap seems ironic in highly feminised industry. These new well-paid MDs have no experience of the sector, or of the impact of their rapid acquisi*ons. They steer clear of disadvantage, or any kind of complexity, and do not understand that many children have mul*ple needs – and that not mee*ng them is a disaster being stored up for the future. Special needs are not profitable. And the profits are being gained at the expense of staff who are earning very basic wages.

RecommendaJons for elder care

• Recommenda*on 1: A Transparency Act – care home providers

should be mandated to disclose where their income goes.

• Recommenda*on 2: A new form regula*on is required to prevent

care home companies with unsa*sfactory financial models from providing care in the UK.

• Recommenda*on 3: Capital should be made available by the

government for the provision of new nurseries.

RecommendaJons for Childcare

• Annual plans for each nursery, which must be agreed by staff and

parents;

• Introduce a fee ceiling related to household income;
• Introduce quotas for vulnerable children;
• Increase the propor*on of qualified staff if the nursery is to be grant

eligible.

• Broaden the monitoring arrangements to include ownership
• Put concern for nature and the environment at the centre of the

curriculum